Malaysia slammed for deporting 6 Myanmar military defectors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian rights group has condemned the government’s move to deport 150 Myanmar nationals, including six defectors from the Myanmar military who were all arrested upon arrival in their homeland. The Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar said Friday that the Oct. 6. deportation was “a breach of the international principle of non-refoulement.” Its chairman, Syed Hamid Albar, said the six military defectors were now imprisoned and may face capital punishment. Syed Hamid, who is also Malaysia’s former Foreign Minister, urged Malaysia to halt all further deportations to Myanmar until there are adequate procedures to assess asylum seekers’ claims. Officials from the Home Ministry couldn’t be immediately reached for comments.